State of Iowa v. Antoine Tyree Williams

I. Introduction.

This is the third case we decide today concerning a defendant's right to an impartial jury drawn from a fair cross section of the community. An African-American defendant was charged with first-degree murder in Floyd County, a county that is approximately 2.3% African-American in population. See Iowa Code §§ 707.1 , .2(1)( a ) (2017). The decedent was also African-American. The jury pool of unexcused jurors, however, contained only one African-American. The district court overruled the defendant's motion to strike the jury panel. Later, the court declined to permit defense…